WEDDING PLANNING {What to Wear for your Engagement Pictures}

December 28, 2011

You’re engaged.

He fiiinally put a ring on it and now you’re starting to plan the wedding of your dreams…but first thing’s first. It’s time to take your engagement pictures!! Your mother’s generation thinks of them as the “proper” way to announce your engagement, but you may just want some pretty pictures for the house {or to flaunt on Facebook, let’s be honest here}. In actuality, engagement pictures are a necessity that can be used for so many things!! You can turn them into save the dates to send out to friends, they can be displayed at the wedding for decor, they can be used as table numbers, but most importantly taking the engagement pictures is like the “trial” session with your photographer {which is why most photographers include them in their packages}. This is the time that you get to know your photographers photo cues and shooting style and your photographer gets to know your level of comfort in front of a camera, your “bad side”, and all of the other quirks you and your fiance may have. Basically, it’s an essential meet and greet before the big day!!

Now that you know how important these shoots are, we can get to the good stuff….what you’re going to wear. Before running out to the mall {or TJ Maxx, if you’re me} you should read over these guidelines.

1) Coordinate your colors. I’m not saying you both have to be wearing the exact shade of blue, actually i’m telling you quite the opposite. The colors should compliment each other. It doesn’t matter whether you decide on a monochromatic palette that varies in shade or two colors on opposite ends of the color wheel..they need to work together.

These earthy browns, reds, blues, and greens melt together while making their faces stand out. Perfection.

2) Be bold with color so that the pictures pop….just make sure it compliments your skin tone {i.e. no redheads in orange please}.

3) Wear extra makeup. I’m not an over-the-top makeup wearer, but you definitely need heavier makeup than your everyday look to stand out in pictures. Eyeliner/shadow, contouring blush and bronzer, and lipstick are absolute musts! This is also a GREAT time to try out stylists for your wedding makeup…

4) Don’t be afraid of prints! I’ve heard it over and over and over that prints are bad for pictures…which is right sometimes. A smaller scale print that flatters the figure and isn’t too distracting would be perfect. My one piece of advice, stick with only one or two mixed patterns between the two of you and make sure they’re at different scales so they don’t get confusing.

5) Choose clothes that compliment your surroundings. If you’re taking your pictures in a contemporary location, think about dressing up a little bit. In that same respect, if you’re heading out in a wheat field it’s probably best to wear jeans and flats or a sun dress and boots…

6) Have extra outfits on hand. You never know where you will end up when taking pictures….if you see a cool spot on the way to your location, you may stop and try it out. Lighting and scenery is also constantly changing, so be sure to give yourself plenty of options.

7) Wear bold accessories. Accessories not only add playfulness and interest to the pictures, but they also give you plenty of photo ops {i.e. tugging on your necklace, tipping your hat, looping your fingers in your belt….}. Try out a chunky necklace, add a belt for waist definition, or maybe even try on a cute hat??

8 ) Avoid anything too trendy. Best example…skinny jeans and cropped shirts don’t look good on MOST body types. You need to strategically work your best assets while hiding the problem areas.

9) Bring props!! Themed engagement shoots are my absolute favorite. Nobody knows you better than you, so bring some props that help tell a little bit about your relationship. Maybe you like to play scrabble together? You share a mutual love for bike rides? You’re bookworms and like to read….whatever you like to do, the more props to choose from the merrier your photographer is going to be.

10) Be true to your unique style. If you’re a tom boy and hate wearing dresses, you’re going to look uncomfortable and unnatural in your pictures. The same goes for the guys. If your man is always dirty and rugged, don’t put him in a shirt and tie. He’s already going to be uncomfortable enough with a camera in his face…

Finally, what kind of post would this be without me showing you some epic FAILS. After all, I need to further prove my point right?

Rule Breaker #1-Not matching your surroundings….they’re dressed up to go to the opera yet standing in BFE in front of a rusted truck???

Rule Breaker #2- Appropriate clothing…her lady parts are about to make an appearance…

Rule Breaker #3-Props gone bad…

Rule Breaker #4-Distracting clothes…I don’t even see their faces because i’m concentrating on trying to understand their wardrobe selection.